Pa. eyes public water for contaminated New Hanover wells

This aerial photo shows the area of contamination as identified during the public hearing in April. The green dots show where samples were taken and not found to be above safe exposure levels. The red dots show where exposure levels exceeded those limits. (Photo from Mercury video by Evan Brandt)

NEW HANOVER — State officials will accept input at a hearing tonight on their plan to provide public water to homes with contaminated well water that are clustered around a former fuel oil company on Layfield Road.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Boyertown Junior High East, 2020 Big Road.

The contamination was first identified in July 2011, when the Montgomery County Health Department discovered high levels of contaminants in a well sample from 326 Layfield Road. The home is near the former Swann Oil Company, also known as Good Oil, at 334 Layfield Road, which was cited in 1973 for allowing chemicals to contaminate a tributary of Swamp Creek. More recently, “in the 2000s,” contamination was found in samples at the site, according to state documents.

After the 2011 discovery, more than 40 samples were taken throughout the entire area and ultimately samples from nine residential properties, including one apartment house, were found to have contamination levels above the safe drinking water standard for a host of different contaminants, most of which are part of a family of chemicals called “volatile organic compounds,” or VOCs.

Advertisement

According to the 30-page report on file at the New Hanover Township Building, 12 new monitoring wells were installed in April and new dangers have been identified for those homes.

In October, a senior toxicologist at the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry analyzing the results for a home at 318 Layfield Road found levels of contamination so high — 10 to 100 times the safe exposure limit — he concluded it is unsafe for those residents to even shower with the water from their well.

“This screening evaluation estimates a concentration of TCE in the air during showering that would represent a substantial increased risk for these adverse health effects” from exposure to the eight different contaminants found to be above safe levels, Karl V. Markiewicz, an ATSDR toxicologist, wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

At least two of the properties where the well water was tested are owned by the Silvi Group, the parent company of Gibraltar Rock, which is seeking to open a rock quarry nearby.

Contamination levels at the two Silvi-owned properties are minor compared to the more severe contaminations noted above and all were below the safe exposure limit.

The presence of contamination there has raised a question for the Paradise Watchdogs, a citizens group opposed to the quarry, about whether the groundwater pumping that is proposed to occur at the quarry site as part of the operation there has the potential to affect the direction or velocity of the underground plume of pollution.

Chris Mullaney, the attorney for the group, sent a letter to the manager of DEP’s mining office, which is in Pottsville and has jurisdiction over the quarry application, asking that someone from the office attend tonight’s public hearing to answer questions about how the plume might be affected by pumping at the quarry. He said he had received no response as of Monday.

Asked whether the DEP will be able to answer questions tonight about the potential impact of quarry operations on the pollution plume, Deborah Fries, a DEP spokeswoman, said the matter open for discussion at the public hearing tonight has to do with the “interim response,” which is to ensure a safe drinking water supply for the 30 to 35 affected households.

“The remediation of the contamination is on another track altogether,” Fries responded in an email.

“The monitoring wells just went in during September and October. There will be an investigation which will study the plume and its characteristics, and then the development of a remedial plan,” Fries wrote. “There will be additional public involvement for the remediation plan.”

Tonight’s presentation will focus on the DEP’s proposed solution for getting safe drinking water to those with contaminated wells — a proposed connection to the Superior Water Co. system.

The DEP looked at five alternatives to resolve the problem: taking no action; delivering bottled water to those homes and restricting use of well water; installing “whole house” treatment systems and restricting well water use; constructing a small “community water supply” combined with well water restrictions; or connecting to the municipal water supply in the area.

The other alternatives were rejected as either being too expensive or not protective enough of human health, according to the summary.

Connecting the homes identified as having the contaminated wells will cost “up to $2 million,” according to DEP estimates.

While those homeowners will not have to pay the connection fee — state taxpayers will cover that cost — they will have to pay the going rate for their water from this point forward.

As for the source of the contamination, although the Good’s Oil site seems a likely candidate, it has not been scientifically proven yet.

That investigation, along with an investigation of how best to remediate the site, remains on DEP’s “to do list.”

Should the former oil site be identified as the source of the pollution, the state is authorized to seek the costs of the investigation and remediation from the owner.

Tonight’s public hearing will start a public comment period that does not end until Jan. 18.

Written comments on the DEP’s proposal to connect the affected homeowners to public water can be made to Colin R. Wade, Solid Waste Specialist, PA Dept. of Environmental protection, 2 E. Main St., Norristown, PA 19401.

About the Author

Evan Brandt has worked for The Mercury since November 1997. His beat includes Pottstown, the surrounding townships and the Pottstown and Pottsgrove school districts, as well as other varied general topics like politics, the environment and education. Reach the author at ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
or follow Evan on Twitter: @PottstownNews.